Vixen
by Deliwiel
Summary: Things never seem to work out well for MacGyver. Whether he's undercover with dangerous criminals, searching for his ex-girlfriend, or trying to keep what he really does a secret, he leads a busy life. So when he takes a few days off to go help a friend, he was hoping for a bit more peace and quiet. He should have known better. Rated T for injuries.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, I'm back with another MacGyver story! Hopefully you guys like it!**_

 _ **Just as a heads up, this story takes place before Bozer finds out about what the Phoenix actually is, but after Nikki betrays them. So it may seem a little unbelievable, but I'm going to claim creative license and say it's going to work *awkward grin* Also, that means it's Thornton, not Matty, and I haven't written dear old Patricia in a while, so hopefully I've not done her a disservice.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **I don't own these characters.**_

"Come on, Jack!" Mac yelled as they ran through the house. Their cover had been blown, and now they had to work faster to get the package out.

Jack fired off three more rounds to hold off their pursuers before chasing after his friend. "Waitin' on you, now," he called back as he passed the blond. Mac rolled his eyes but didn't respond as they made their way to the room holding their mission.

When they finally reached the door, they found it locked, but that didn't deter Jack. "Here, stand back," he said, backing up a few paces. He lifted his foot and smashed it right above the knob, causing the door to cave in. They pushed through the broken door and found … an empty room. Mac wondered for a moment where their package was, but suddenly there was a yell from behind the door, and the agent barely had time to duck out of the way as a glass cup was swung at his head.

"Woah!" Mac spun out of reach and caught the woman's hand before she could swing the glass again. "Is that how you're going to greet the people rescuing you?"

"Rescuing me?"

"Agent Dram, there isn't a lot of time to explain, but my name is MacGyver. This is my partner, Jack. We're here to rescue you."

"Forgive me for not believing you," she snarled, trying to yank her hand out of Mac's grip to attack him again.

"Hey," Jack said, stepping in to add his help. "Listen, I like your fighting spirit, I really do. But it's gonna make it a little hard to get outta here alive if you keep fighting us every step of the way. How about you let us get you outta here, and then if you still don't trust us, we let you bash your glass against the kid's head then?"

Mac stared at Jack incredulously.

"Hey, if you can sacrifice my phone any time you want, I think it's my turn to promise something outrageous," Jack defended.

"A phone is replaceable!"

"She wouldn't hit you that hard!"

The woman stared at them in confusion. "I'm sorry, _who_ are you guys again?"

MacGyver turned back to her and let go of her hand slowly, ready to grab her if she tried to clock him again. The men chasing them shouted as they came down the hallway, and Jack quickly made his way over and began barricading the broken door. "We work with the government," Mac explained.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? They disavowed me. Left me here for dead. Why would they send someone now?"

"Because we're who they call when they can't get involved," Mac said, trying to hold back his temper.

The shouting was getting closer; the men were almost upon them. Mac knew that the barricade Jack had put up wouldn't hold up for very long, and it wouldn't shield them from bullets if the men decided to cut their losses with their prisoner and just fire into the room. The woman had turned to look as well with a worried expression. Apparently she'd had similar thoughts about whether or not her usefulness had been dried up.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look at me." Mac snapped his fingers to get the woman's attention. "Listen: Do you trust me?"

"I just met you," the woman replied, sounding slightly cross. Mac huffed.

"Fair point, but right now, me and my partner are the only things between you and your next interrogation. So you can either trust us enough to get you out of here, or you can wait around for those men to break through the door."

"Mac, I can't hold 'em back much longer," Jack called out. "Whatever you got planned, we gotta do it now!"

MacGyver stared the woman in the eyes. She still looked scared, but she finally nodded, and she reached out for Mac's offered hand.

"Jack, come on."

Jack didn't need to be told twice. He finished pushing the one last piece of furniture in front of the door, then followed his partner over to the window. Agent Dram stared at the two of them incredulously as Mac opened the window and looked out.

"What are you doing? This is your escape plan? We're going to jump?"

"Unless you can think of a different way down?" MacGyver looked back at the undercover agent, who didn't answer. "Right then. Okay. Here we go." Mac glanced at the ground, two stories down. They weren't that high up, but it was still messing with Mac's mild acrophobia. He shook his head though, and forced himself to forget about the height. "Ready?"

"No," the woman said. "But do I have a choice?"

"...No, not really. Jump on one. Three … two … one."

 _0-0-0_

"You're lucky it's just a twisted ankle," Thornton admonished her agent as the blond sat in a chair. "Jumping out a second-story window? What were you thinking?"

"I was _thinking_ that I'd make it fully into the pool, not just … most of me," Mac replied. "The important thing is that Agent Dram is safe."

"The important thing is that you keep yourself safe so you can continue to go on missions," Thornton said, folding her arms and staring at her agent.

"I'm fine," Mac insisted. "Really, I am. I don't need to take any time off; I can keep going out."

"Not until you see a doctor."

"Thornton, that's really not necessary. I'll just ice and wrap it at home, and-"

"Doctor. Now."

Mac met his director's stare.

"That's not a request, Agent."

MacGyver almost rolled his eyes, but thought better of that action. "Yes ma'am," he muttered.

 _0-0-0_

"Just don't do anything too crazy, and that ankle should heal up just fine," the doctor assured MacGyver as the blond began walking out.

"Thanks," Mac said, shrugging on his jacket. He didn't bother mentioning that his job was full of crazy. He'd just take care of it as much as he could. As he walked out the door and into the waiting room, he didn't notice the woman standing by the door, leafing through papers in her hands, and he couldn't stop himself as he knocked into her.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry," Mac said, immediately dropping down to help her with her fallen items. He moved too quickly though, and put too much weight on his ankle at once, and had to sit down to make his ankle stop throbbing. As he waited for the pain to die down, he held out the papers he'd gathered to the woman.

"Thanks. Hey, you okay?" she asked as she accepted the papers. She stood and offered her hand to the young man. With an embarrassed smile, Mac accepted the help up.

"You're asking if I'm okay? I'm the one who wasn't watching where I was going."

"Yeah, you're right … think we should exchange insurances?" she asked with a wink.

"Well it probably wouldn't be hard for you to find it, if it's in that stack of papers you're carrying."

"You're right, it's in here somewhere." The girl looked at Mac. "I'd be willing to forget about you bumping into me though if I can get your number and we get coffee sometime."

"Are you bribing me?" Mac asked with a laugh.

"It's not a bribe," the girl insisted, though she had a mischievous glint in her eye. MacGyver hesitated, not sure if he was ready to get into another relationship, and she seemed to sense it.

"Hey, it's not like I'm asking to move into your place or get married. It's just coffee," she persuaded. Mac looked at her again, and suddenly he heard Jack in his mind, silently telling him that he was still hung up on Nikki. With that thought, Mac made up his mind.

"Yeah, sure. Here, let me give you my number." He took her phone and put his number in her contacts under the name "MacGyver".

"MacGyver, huh?" she asked when he handed back her phone.

"My friends call me Mac."

"That's a little more normal." She smiled at him. "Well, Mac. I'll see you soon then." She finished putting her papers back in a neat pile, then went and sat in the waiting room, obviously still waiting for someone seeing a doctor. MacGyver smiled and nodded, then left the room. As he made his way to his car, his phone beeped with a new text message.

 _Kristy Wixom :)_

 ** _Sorry, kind of a weird place to end it, and not a lot of action in this chapter, but I promise, the action is coming :} You guys know me; I can't write a story without action. Unless you've been reading my Avengers one-shot stories. But that's just to expand my writing skills XD_**

 ** _Anyway. I promise, the action is coming._**

 ** _Let me know what you think!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Lol I'm glad you guys like the story! :D And I know some people get nervous around OCs, and trust me. I feel the same way, which is why I don't put them in unless I'm confident in them. Also, if anyone was wondering, I never do self-insert (at least not that I post cuz they suuuuuck), so if that's what you're worried about, don't worry XD Kristy isn't even close to my actual name, promise XD**_

 _ **Anyway, let me know what you guys think!**_

"Who ya textin'?" Jack asked, trying to look over Mac's shoulder. The blond not-so-subtly turned his phone away, preventing his friend from seeing the text. "Ah, so it's a girl," the ex-Delta surmised, waggling his eyebrows. "What's her name?"

"Not now, Jack," Mac said, rolling his eyes.

"What? Come on, you can tell me!"

After a few more moments of Jack pestering his friend, Mac finally relented. "Kristy," he finally said. Then, knowing what his partner's next question was going to be, he continued. "We met about a couple of weeks ago."

"Atta boy." Jack clapped his friend on the shoulder, almost knocking Mac over. "Sorry," he said with a wide grin as Mac righted himself. "Where'd you guys meet?"

MacGyver didn't answer immediately, and Jack knew it had to be somewhere at least a little embarrassing.

"C'mon," he said, nudging his partner. "You can tell me. I won't make fun!"

Mac looked at his partner dubiously. " _You_ won't make fun? I've had less embarrassing stories that you _still_ make fun of me for."

"That's because they deserve to be kept alive," Jack insisted. "But now that I know for sure that it's something embarrassing, you're right. I'm probably gonna make fun of you for it."

"Then why on earth do you think I'd tell you?"

"Because A, I'm your best friend, and B, I won't stop bugging you until you do."

Mac stared at his partner, unamused. Jack didn't care though, and MacGyver could see that he was going to hold up his end of the deal. In order to stop the madness before it even began, he held up his hands.

"Fine," he conceded. "Just … don't do anything we'd both regret later."

"You know I regret nothing," Jack reminded him.

"That's what concerns me," Mac muttered. Jack stared at him expectantly, and Mac sighed. "We bumped into each other at the doctor's office," he finally explained.

"The loooooove doctor?" Jack asked, waggling his eyebrows. He started humming something that sounded suspiciously like "Witch Doctor," and Mac glared at his partner.

"This is why I wasn't going to tell you," he chastised.

"Aw c'mon," Jack said, pretending to zip his lips closed. "I'll be good, I promise."

Mac glared at Jack, but there was no anger behind the stare. Just exasperation.

"So …?"

"So what?"

"So tell me about her! What's her name? Address? Mother's maiden name? Social security number? Name of her first dog? I'm just curious."

"Her name is Kristy," Mac replied.

Jack waited for his friend to continue, but the blond just sat there, staring at him, and Jack pouted. "Just Kristy? No last name?"

"Not that you get to know yet."

"You guys friends on Facebook yet? I'll find her eventually even without a last name, might as well tell me now."

"Do you know how many 'Kristy's' there are in this zip code alone?" Mac asked with a chuckle.

"Didn't say it would be instantaneous," Jack shot back. "But I'll find out eventually."

"How about this," Mac offered. "I'll introduce you to her soon, as long as you're on your best behavior until then, and when you meet her."

"Scout's honor," Jack said, kissing three fingers before holding them up in the air.

"That's the symbol for the _Hunger Games_ ," Mac pointed out.

"Eh. Close enough. Either way, I promise I'll be good."

"Fine. I'll talk with her, see what she wants to do."

 _0-0-0_

Mac and Kristy sat on Mac's patio, watching the sunset with drinks in their hands.

"So Jack wants to meet, huh?" Kristy asked, leaning her head down on Mac's shoulder. "I'd be okay meeting him. Maybe it's time I meet some more of your friends and coworkers."

The blond chuckled. "Not sure that's a good idea just yet," he said. "Jack's a lot to take in."

"What, you don't think I could take it?" she asked, poking him in the side.

Mac squirmed away from her digging finger, grabbing it gently. "No, it's that I don't want him getting his … Jack-ness all over whatever we've got going on," he assured her. "I love him like a brother, but I also know that he'll act like a brother once I introduce you two."

Kristy laughed. "Fair enough," she conceded. She paused for a minute, then continued. "So … what _do_ we have going on?"

Mac looked down at her, slightly shocked that they were discussing this already. They'd only known each other for a couple weeks. He liked her, and he liked hanging out with her, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to commit to something yet. Kristy could sense his uncomfortableness, and she backtracked.

"I mean, it's not like I'm looking for anything super serious," she said quickly.

"It's fine," Mac assured her. "I just … my last relationship didn't quite … end well. I don't want to move too fast and potentially ruin a good thing."

"That's fair," she said, nodding. "You can be open with me, though. You know that, right?"

Mac nodded. "I do know that. I just don't know if I'm quite ready—"

Kristy put her hand on his cheek.

"Hey," she said. "It's okay. Really, it is."

MacGyver smiled at the woman "Thanks. You're really easy to talk to," he said. She smiled up at him and put her drink down before wrapping her arms around one of his and leaning her head against his shoulder. He laid his cheek on top of her head as she responded.

"I feel the same way about you."

 _0-0-0_

The next morning when Mac showed up to the Phoenix, Jack was smirking at him.

"Hey bud," he greeted. Mac knew what his partner was trying to do, but he wasn't going to fall prey to the insinuations.

"Hi Jack."

"You with Kristy last night?"

"Maybe I was," Mac said evasively, knowing his vague answers would infuriate the older man. Mac couldn't help it; getting under Jack's skin was too easy sometimes. However, Jack knew what the younger man was trying to do, and he wasn't about to let it work.

"So? How'd it go?"

Mac looked over at Jack, who raised his eyebrows. "We just talked," he said with a shrug.

"Mmhmm, as in the sexy kinda talk?"

"Nope. Just talked till about three in the morning."

Jack's mouth fell open. "Dude. We need to have a talk about your dating tactics."

"My dating tactics are just fine, Jack. Just because I move a little slower doesn't mean I don't know how to date."

Jack _hmmm_ ed, but Patty came in with a new mission before he could razz Mac anymore.

 _0-0-0_

 _One Week Later_

Jack pulled up outside Mac's house. The last mission they'd gone on, while everyone made it out alive, hadn't been particularly easy, and it had been particularly taxing on MacGyver, who'd gone home almost immediately. Thornton had let Jack know that Mac was taking a few days off, and Jack wanted to make sure his friend was okay. However, when he pulled up in front of the house, he saw an unfamiliar car parked in front. His immediate thought was that someone was in the house that shouldn't be, but then he remembered MacGyver was seeing Krista, or whatever her name was, and he realized it was probably her car, and that running in guns blazing probably wasn't the best idea.

So instead, he got out of his car and walked casually up the driveway. When he reached the door, he gently tested the handle and found it open, so he pushed the door open. It made no sound as it swung inward, and Jack couldn't hear anything inside.

"Mac?" he called out softly, not wanting to intrude on his friend if he and this Kirsten girl were doing something. He would admit to himself that he was intrigued to meet this new girl, though he wasn't keen on meeting her in the middle of anything … private.

"Mac?" Jack called out again in a conspiratorial whisper. Nobody answered, but suddenly Jack heard someone talking in hushed tones nearby. He walked towards the kitchen and peered around the corner.

"It'll work, trust me."

Jack saw the back of a woman he assumed was Krystal, or whatever her name was. She was on the phone, and she sounded stressed to the max. "No, listen. I know it's been a long time, but trust me. I can make this work."

She listened for another minute. "Don't tell me what to do," she snapped. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me. I'll get what we need. Just have everything ready to go on Sunday. I'll make sure I've got it."

Jack wondered what she was talking about, but she hung up, and he had to duck back behind the wall to avoid being spotted. After a few more seconds, making sure it seemed like he hadn't been eavesdropping, he strode around the corner, rapping his knuckles lightly against the wall.

"Knock knock," he greeted. The woman turned around, and Jack noticed how her eyes were slightly narrow, as if suspicious as she slipped her phone in her pocket. The look disappeared almost instantly though, and Jack wondered if he'd just misread the expression. "I'm assuming you're Kelsey?" he asked, holding out his hand.

The woman smiled and accepted the offered hand. "Kristy, actually. Kristy Wixom. And you must be Jack."

"The one and only," Jack replied proudly. He looked into her eyes as he spoke, and for some reason, he got the feeling that she was hiding something. He really had no reason to doubt her though, so he tried to shake it off. He didn't want to ruin whatever good thing Mac had stumbled onto. Or more accurately, stumbled _into._ He smirked slightly, deciding to keep that pun to himself until a golden opportunity presented itself.

"Mac didn't say you were coming over," Kristy continued.

"He didn't know. Just a little worried about him is all. Wanted to make sure he's getting taken care of, but I see that's all sorted out."

Kristy smiled at Jack, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. It was more of a 'I'm stealing your best friend out from under you and you can't do anything about it,' look. Or at least, that's what it looked like to Jack though he figured he was probably a little biased. He tried to keep the jealous bite out of his voice as he moved on.

"Speakin' of Mac, he around?"

"Yeah, I think he's out on the deck." Kristy gestured towards the patio, and Jack nodded at her in thanks. The older agent made his way towards the patio where sure enough, he saw the blond sitting with his face towards the sun, eyes closed. Jack noticed the small cut Mac had received on their last mission, and he was glad to see that it seemed to be healing nicely.

"Hey bud." Jack sat down next to his friend, jostling the kid out of his apparent doze.

"Hey, Jack. Sorry, I didn't know you were coming over."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just wanted to make sure you were taken care of. Your replacement caretaker seems … nice," he added nonchalantly, side-eyeing his friend to see what the blond's reaction would be to the announcement that he had met Kristy.

Mac sighed, but it was more like a breathy chuckle than anything. "Guess it had to happen eventually," he said in mock disappointment. "And she's not your replacement, Jack. No one can replace you."

"Well that's nice to hear, but try telling me that when it comes down between cuddling with her or have a Bruce Willis movie marathon with me."

Mac laughed out loud at that. "Maybe if you choose something other than Bruce Willis every now and then," he teased.

"Bruce Willis is all that is good in this world, man. It wouldn't even have to be an action movie. He's got some good … non-actiony films. What about that one that you really like, about the time travel?"

Mac stared at his friend in confusion until he realized what Jack was talking about. "You mean _The Kid_?"

"Yeah that one! We could watch that one if you wanted."

"Jack, I'm not saying I'm going to choose her over watching Bruce Willis with you," Mac assured his friend. Jack sniffed, but seemed mollified for the moment. "Listen, Jack," Mac continued. "I don't want to rush you out, but Kristy and I are actually leaving in a couple minutes."

Jack became dramatic again. "It's already starting!"

Mac smacked his friend lightly. "Stop that," he ordered with a laugh.

"Where ya goin'?"

"Kristy's got a cabin in Northern California that's needing a bit of repair work. She asked me to take a look at it, and we figured we'd stop by the Redwoods for a day or so."

Jack's eyebrows raised. "Woah, so you're _really_ leaving, not just going to grab a movie or dinner or something." He studied his friend before going on. "Wow, a road trip already? You've only known each other for a few weeks."

"You're the one who's been telling me I need to get out and meet more girls," Mac pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's meeting girls and going on dates with them. Not driving ten or more hours for a weekend getaway."

"Are you jealous that I'm going with someone besides you?" Mac teased, nudging his partner with his elbow.

"Ay," Jack said, smacking his friend's elbow away from his ribs. "No, I'm not jealous. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"What do you mean?"

Jack sighed. "No, listen. It's probably nothing. Just me overreacting."

"Jack, what's wrong?"

Jack hesitated another moment, but Kristy's phone call kept replaying in his head, and each time it did, Jack's gut sunk a little deeper. "Mac, I didn't wanna say anything before, but I don't think Kristy's being completely honest with you."

Mac looked at his partner, surprised. "What are you talking about?"

Jack heard the warning in his partner's tone, advising him to tread carefully, but this just wasn't something that he could push aside. "Listen. I may have accidentally overheard a phone call she was on a few minutes ago. She kept insisting that something would work, that she knew what she was doing. Something about getting things ready, and she'd have whatever they need by Sunday."

"You … you listened in on a private phone call she had?"

"Look, I know you're probably angry, but—"

"No, Jack, I'm not angry, I'm furious! You don't listen in on a private phone conversation and then pretend like you know what's going on!"

"Yeah, but how do you know—"

"Her grandfather has cancer, Jack. Apparently the rest of her family isn't sure they want to put him through chemo."

Jack felt a bit like a tool, but some of the things she'd said in the phone call didn't add up with that explanation. Before Jack could point that out though, Mac continued.

"If she's saying something will work, and she knows what she's doing, she's probably trying to convince the rest of her family to let her grandfather get the treatment."

Jack knew that he shouldn't push the subject anymore, so he backed off, albeit a little hesitantly. "Mac, look, I'm sorry, man."

"It's fine." By Mac's tone, Jack could tell it clearly _wasn't_ fine, but before the older man could say anything else, Mac stood up. "We need to get going if we want to reach the motel before midnight. I took the next few days off, so only call me if it's an emergency." The blond strode past Jack.

"Hey Mac." Jack caught his friend's arm as he walked past. "I'm sorry," he said again. Mac sighed and gently pulled his arm from Jack's grip.

"I'll see you in a few days."

Jack watched his friend walk inside and pick up his girlfriend's bag. The older agent rested his forehead in his hands, feeling conflicted. He wanted to trust Mac, but some of the things he'd heard in the phone call were just not adding up with the idea that she was trying to convince her family about chemo. After years of being in the spy business, as well as the army, Jack knew better than to completely dismiss a gut feeling, so while he wasn't going to bring it up to Mac again, he decided not to let it drop completely. At least until he could find out a little more about her.

He stood up and made his way through the house, following Mac and Kristy down the driveway where they were loading up Mac's Jeep. Jack clapped his friend on the shoulder and gave Kristy a smile. "Be safe, you two," he instructed. Kristy smiled back and rubbed Mac's arm.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't get us into any trouble."

Mac smiled tightly at Jack, and the Delta knew that that was the only goodbye he was going to get from his friend. He could only hope that a few days away would help both of them cool down a little bit, and by then, Jack would hopefully have his answers about Kristy. He bid the two of them one last farewell, then slid into his own car. Mac opened the door for Kristy, then climbed in himself, and soon they were pulling out of the driveway, leaving Jack alone in front of Mac's house. After a minute, he pulled out his cell phone.

"Riley? Could you do me a favor? I need you to look up Kristy Wixom. See what you can find about her. Especially if it has to do with her grandfather." He knew MacGyver would be more than furious with him if he found out what Jack was doing, but the older agent just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

 _ **Soooooo ... still good? Still interested in reading it? Lemme know what you think!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter three! Just as a disclaimer, I always feel like I lose touch with the characters if I haven't seen MacGyver content in a while, so if they seem OOC, my apologies!**_

The rain was coming down hard, and Mac's wipers looked like they were running a marathon as they tried to keep up with the downpour.

"Man, where did this come from?" Mac asked, glancing out his window as he stared up at the clouds.

"Usually it comes from the sky," Kristy snarked. MacGyver bit his cheek, preventing himself from giving her the long explanation about rain and clouds.

Suddenly, Mac's gas light came on. "What?" he asked in disbelief. "I thought I just filled this up!"

As he drifted to the side of the road, his car sputtering with the lack of gas, MacGyver spotted a large wooden cabin through the sheets of rain. He managed to coast the car up into the driveway before putting it in park and shutting off the engine. "Maybe whoever lives here can give me a lift to the closest gas station," he said to Kristy.

"I'm coming up with you," she stayed. MacGyver looked like he wanted to argue, since they didn't know who lived in the cabin, but once again he held his tongue. "What?" she asked when she saw his hesitation. "I'm not staying out here alone in the rain while you go up to the nice big, dry house."

Mac chuckled. "Fair point," he conceded. He pulled off his jacket and handed it over. "Here," he offered. "To keep at least a little dry."

"My hero," Kristy said with a smirk. They unbuckled their seat belts, and then on the count of three, pushed their doors open and made a mad dash for the covered porch.

Even though it only took them a few seconds to get up the porch stairs, by the time they reached the door, they were both soaked to the bone, even with Mac's jacket covering Kristy's head. Kristy swung the jacket back onto Mac's soaking wet shoulders, where it landed with a _plop_.

"Thanks for that," she said, wringing out her hair.

Mac chuckled as he knocked on the door. "Hello?" Almost a full minute passed with no answer, and Mac knocked again. "Hello? Is anyone home?" There was still no answer. Mac looked over at Kristy, who had begun shivering.

"Look, even if someone's home, it doesn't look like they want to answer the door for two strangers. There was a gas station about a mile and a half back; I'll just run back there, grab some gas, then come back. Why don't you sit in the car? Try and stay at least a little warm?"

Mac turned back and started down the steps, but Kristy didn't follow. When he noticed the woman wasn't by his side, Mac turned around, wondering what she was doing. His eyes widened when he saw her turning the handle and pushing the door open.

"Kristy!" he hissed, hurrying back and grabbing her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"You're going to get sick if you go all the way back to the gas station in this rain. Whoever lives here can help us."

"You can't just break into their house!"

Kristy pulled her arm free of Mac's grip. "The door was unlocked," she stated as if that made everything better. Before he could stop her, she pushed the door the rest of the way open and strode in.

"Kristy. Kristy!" No matter how many times he hissed her name, she didn't come back out. Mac ground his teeth and rolled his eyes in exasperation before he finally stepped over the threshold as well. "Kristy? Come on, we shouldn't be here."

"Come on, Mac," Kristy's voice came from down the hall. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"My sense of adventure doesn't include breaking and entering!"

Instead of answering, Mac suddenly heard Kristy let out a small shriek that was cut off abruptly.

"Kristy!" Mac hurried towards where his girlfriend had been earlier, wondering if the owner of the house had caught her sneaking around. However, the scene he found when he stepped into the room Kristy had been heading for was not what he was expecting.

A large man was standing inside with Kristy standing next to him. The thing that immediately struck Mac as odd was that he wasn't holding her, and she didn't look like she had any inclination to leave. Mac got a sinking feeling in his gut, and he took a step back. He was so focused on the people in front of him that he didn't notice someone standing in the corner behind him until their foot connected with the side of his knee.

Mac fell to the ground with a grunt, landing on all fours. His knee was pulsing with pain, but thanks to years of severe enough injuries, he knew that it wouldn't be a huge hindrance. "What's going on?" he growled, pushing himself into a kneeling position, trying to keep as much weight as possible off his injured knee. Even if it wasn't as severe as it could have been, it still hurt, and Mac still needed to keep himself from injuring it further if he was going to get out of the situation he'd found himself in.

"It's nothing personal, Mac," Kristy said, her voice sounding sickly sweet. Mac scoffed.

"Feels a little personal." The blond rolled his eyes. "Jack was right about you hiding something," he muttered.

Kristy sighed. "I wondered if he'd overheard anything. Thankfully, you didn't seem inclined to believe him."

Mac grit his teeth together, though he decided not to chew himself out for not listening to his friend until after he was away from his crazy now-ex girlfriend. He sat there for a second, trying to ease everyone into relaxing slightly, until, with a yell, and knowing how much pain it was going to put him in, Mac thrust his injured leg back. The man behind him, who had knocked MacGyver down in the first place, had his feet kicked out from under him. The man toppled with a yell of surprise, and Mac took advantage of the moment of stunned silence. He launched himself to his feet and immediately took off down the hallway, only slightly limping from the pain in his knee.

As he ran, he reached out for anything he could in the hallway, toppling over bookshelves and throwing frames to the floor, trying to clutter the hallway as best he could. He felt bad for whoever owned the house, but not bad enough to make him stop. Thankfully, the front door was still open, so he propelled himself outside without slowing down at all, though he was forced to stop momentarily when he came face to face with the porch stairs.

It didn't throw him off for long though. He simply leaned on the railing and hopped down the three steps, making sure to land on his good leg. Once he was on solid ground, he immediately headed for his Jeep. Before he'd even gone two steps though, there was a yell from his right. Sudden pain exploded near his temple, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Kristy dropped the golf club that she'd hit him with. "Get him inside," she panted The two men moved forward and grabbed the limp form, hoisting him up and dragging him back up the stairs unceremoniously. Kristy looked up and down the road, satisfied that no one would be coming their way. Not in this rain, anyway. They had plenty of time.

 _0-0-0_

Jack's phone buzzed. "Riley? You find anything?"

"I don't know what you were looking for Jack, but both of Kristy's grandpas are dead. One died ten years ago, the other four."

Jack's gut feeling that something was wrong returned with a vengeance.

"Jack?"

"Ri, where's Mac's phone say he is?"

"What's going on? Is Mac in trouble?"

"Just … where is he?"

"I'm running a trace, but it looks like it's either been turned off, or it's dead."

Jack was already getting his keys and heading out the door. "Where's the last location it registered at?"

There was silence for a moment, save for the tapping of keys as Riley gathered the requested information. "Looks like he was three hours north of here. I'll text directions to your phone."

"Thanks Ri."

"Jack, is he okay?"

Jack paused. His keys were in the ignition but he hadn't started the engine yet. He sighed. "I hope so."

 _ **Sorry it's a bit of a shorter chapter. But what did you guys think? Are you enjoying the story?**_

 _ **Lemme know!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Okay! Sorry it's a few days later than I was planning on. I have a lot of things going on, and the next update might not come until next week sometime, seeing as how I'm moving back to college town. Just as a heads up :)**_

 _ **Also, sorry if it seems rough. I was watching my parent's dog, and she's a bit of a handful, so editing took longer, but I feel like it's not as good as some of my other chapters have been XD**_

 _ **I don't own these characters.**_

It was still raining. Mac could smell it, as well as hear it slamming on the roof of the house. His head was pounding almost in sync with the droplets of rain as he woke more fully, and it took all his concentration to finally open his eyes. He was still in the house he and Kristy had stopped at, but when Mac looked down, he realized he was now duct taped to a chair. There were strips of the silvery tape around his torso, wrists, and legs. After testing the straps and figuring out rather easily that he wasn't going anywhere fast, he stopped moving. It was hurting his head too much. As he moved around, Mac felt something dry on his face. He vaguely remembered running outside before being clobbered over the head with something and realized that he must have bled a lot. Judging from the dizziness, and the nausea he felt whenever he moved, Mac hazarded a guess that he had a concussion.

Suddenly Kristy's voice came from behind. "You know, it's your own fault that you're where you're at," Kristy's voice came from behind.

Mac stared at the woman as she came around his front. "It's my fault you lied to me, knocked me out with a pipe, and tied me to a chair?"

"First of all, it was a golf club. Second, I was just talking about the last part. I got the duct tape from the glovebox in your Jeep"

"Never leave home without it," Mac muttered, closing his eyes as he tried to stave off a strong urge to vomit all over himself.

"I know. And that's why this was so easy. That, and the fact that you fell for me, hook, line, and sinker."

At that, MacGyver opened his eyes as much as he dared and glowered at the woman. "So it was all fake. None of it was real?"

Kristy thought about it for a minute. "No, I meant it when I said you were easy to talk to."

Mac scoffed and pulled at his arm restraints again, even though he knew he couldn't get out on his own, especially with his concussion. "You gonna tell me why you did all this?"

"I'm looking for someone. I think you know where she is."

"And what makes you think that?"

"The fact that it was you and your partner who got her out of my uncle's home in the first place."

Mac shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kristy smirked. "But I think you do."

MacGyver didn't say anything out loud, but he did know what she was talking about. He wasn't going to tell her that though, and he decided to try and change topics, at least for a little bit.

"You cut the gas line in the Jeep." It wasn't a question.

Kristy gasped in mock surprise. "You really _are_ a genius."

"More than you are, if you think you're actually going to get away with this."

"Oh, have we reached the monologue portion of the captivity? I didn't know it came so soon." That last sentence stuck out to Mac, because to him, that let him know that she hadn't done anything like this before. She was an ameteur, and sooner or later, she was going to make an ameteur mistake. He just had to bide his time and wait for the right moment. He brought his attention back to Kristy as the woman continued talking.

"No one's coming for you, Mac. Do you want to know why?"

"Because no one knows I'm in trouble?" Mac suggested, his tone clearly showing that he was mocking her.

Kristy didn't pay attention to his taunts though. "It's because no one actually likes you, and those that do, you push away."

MacGyver rolled his eyes. "You're crazy."

"Am I though? Think about it, Mac. Your dad left you. You told me I'm your first relationship in almost a year; why is that? Because I'm assuming your last girlfriend left. Earlier, you got angry at Jack and pushed him away. Why would he look for you after that? Even your mother, Mac. She died and got away from you. "

Mac knew that last argument shouldn't have made him as angry as it did, but with his concussion and already trying to keep his emotions in check, the comment pushed him over the edge. He began struggling against the tape holding him down, but after a minute, his head began pounding incessantly, and reluctantly he stopped trying to attack Kristy.

She stared at MacGyver with an annoyingly pitiful look before looking behind Mac at the men in the room with them. Mac tried to see where they were going, but he wasn't able to see anything, so he stopped straining his neck and turned back to Kristy defiantly.

"Don't make me do this, MacGyver."

"I'm not making you do anything."

"Just tell me where she is, and we'll let you go."

Mac scoffed. "Do I honestly look that dumb?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"And I don't want to help you."

"Why are you making things so difficult?" Kristy exploded. Mac hid his smirk; he'd gotten under her skin, meaning he was ahead in the game. He wasn't planning on replying, and it looked like Kristy had had enough with their banter and arguing as well, because she jerked her chin at the men behind her and stepped back.

The men made their appearance, and Mac immediately noticed the jumper cables and car battery in their hands. He pulled back in the chair as far as he could, and cast a glance at Kristy. The woman shrugged.

"We don't even have to start if you just tell me what I want to know."

Mac glared at her, then resolutely set himself, preparing himself for what was coming next.

 _0-0-0_

"Where is she, Mac?" The beatings and shocking had stopped for the time being, and Mac tried to relax his spasming muscles as he answered.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Kristy sighed. "Mac. We're just waiting for the storm to pass before we head out. If we reach our final destination without the information I need, neither of us are going to like the consequences."

"Guess we probably just shouldn't go then," Mac snarked.

"Not an option," Kristy snapped. She took in a deep breath to compose herself and leveled her gaze at Mac. "Tell me. Where she is."

"Sorry," Mac said with a shrug, trying to hide how sore even that small movement made him feel. "Wish I could help."

Kristy rubbed her forehead and sighed. "I can't say I didn't warn you." She stepped back and her associates stepped forward again, jumper cables still in hand. Mac stared at the approaching men wearily.

His shirt had smoldering holes peppering it from where they'd already shocked him, and with the way they were doing things, Mac wondered if it was their goal to see how many holes they could get in his shirt without it falling apart.

He was in the middle of that thought when the cable touched his skin, and he couldn't help the pained yell that ripped itself from his throat. Each cable was only left on his skin a few seconds before it was lifted off, but the agent only got a few seconds reprieve before the other descended. The vicious cycle continued for a few minutes, before Kristy finally stepped in.

"That's enough. For now."

Mac looked up at her, his eyes dropping in exhaustion. His body's natural reaction to the pain brought tears to his eyes, though he wasn't actually crying.

"I can't … tell you where … she is … if I don't … know who you're … talking about," he said haltingly. Kristy sighed in exasperation.

"You're good, I'll give you that," she said. Suddenly there was a crash from upstairs, and everyone looked up.

It hadn't even clicked in Mac's head that that they were in a basement, but that was probably because he'd been more focused on the jumper cables, wrong with the knife that one of the men was fiddling with.

"Go check it out," Kristy hissed. One of the men left and headed for a staircase behind them. Mac turned his head as far as he could, trying to watch what was happening, but taking advantage of his distractedness, the remaining man suddenly lashed out.

Mac gasped in surprise at the stinging slice on his bicep. He looked back at Kristy, who was smirking at him, and the man holding the knife had an almost-hungry look in his eyes. The wound wasn't deep, but it was bleeding, and Mac could feel the warm liquid slipping down his arm.

"Ready to talk yet?"

"Zapping me with jumper cables didn't make me talk, and you think a little scratch is going to do it? It's not going to work, and do you want to know why? Because I don't know what you're talking—"

The man had moved forward with the knife again, preparing to cut the blond to get him to shut up, but it was exactly what MacGyver had wanted. Cutting off his own sentence, MacGyver smashed his head into the nose of the advancing man, who yelled in pain. His hands flew up to his nose, but something was missing.

The man looked at his now-empty hand, then down to MacGyver, who was holding the missing knife. The blond had already sliced through the tape holding one of his hands down, so when the thug moved forward, MacGyver was able to swing the knife, slicing the man's hand when it got too close.

Kristy, who had walked over to the stairs to look after the man she had sent to check out the noise, turned around and hurried back. Unfortunately for her, by the time she reached Mac, he'd managed to slice the tape off both of his arms and his chest. She tried to grab him, but he clapped his open palms over her ears and sent her to the floor, clutching her head in pain.

Mac was forced to duck as the man came at him again, fists swinging, but that was actually perfect for the blond, because as he bent in half, he was able to slice through the tape on his legs and finally get out of the chair.

Instead of standing though, Mac went into a roll and knocked the other man's legs out from under him. The man fell over onto the chair with a shout, and while he was down, MacGyver landed a left hook to the man's cheekbone.

Kristy was struggling to get up, but her balance was still off, so Mac was able to limp past her without much difficulty. His knee was still hurting, but compared to the electrocution, it was a mild pain. The blond figured he'd just strained some muscles or ligaments, because he could put a decent amount of weight on it.

He limped his way to the stairs and climbed them, keeping an eye on Kristy and her man, but both of them were still on the floor. Mac pushed open the door, but the sight that greeted him made him pull up short.

 _0-0-0_

Jack's wipers were going at full speed, and he almost missed Mac's jeep parked in a driveway. Hed passed Mac's last known location almost an hour ago, and he was starting to get more worried than he had been before. He'd been keeping an eye out for any overturned vehicles, any signs of a wreck, anything to give Mac a reason to have his phone off. The rain had been lighter up until now, but about ten minutes ago, he'd entered a section of the storm that seemed intent on replicating the flood from Noah's Ark, so he almost missed the small off-shoot where a cabin was sitting. It was by sheer dumb luck that Jack happened to glance to the right and see Mac's Jeep sitting there.

Unsure of why Mac would pull off here of all places (since it was nowhere near the Redwoods), Jack pulled forward a little more to keep his own Marquis out of sight of the windows. He couldn't help but think that if he was just being paranoid though, Mac was going be royally ticked. Jack suddenly paused in his haste to get inside and find Mac. What if he was just imagining things? What if this was actually where Kristy's cabin was, and Mac had just misjudged the distance between here and the Redwoods?

Then Jack thought back to his gut feeling that he had when he overheard Kristy on the phone. That, paired with the fact that she'd lied to Mac about her grandfather, made Jack suspicious all over again. He would rather risk Mac being mad at him rather than risk the fact that his partner and friend could be in danger inside. With that thought, Jack turned his engine off and opened his door, cursing as he stepped into a large puddle.

 _Good start to your rescue_ , he thought to himself as he shook as much water out of his shoe as he could. By that point, he was already soaked to the bone, so he figured it wasn't worth it to rush into things without doing proper recon. If he was overreacting, he'd rather find out before he rushed into the cabin, guns blazing.

That was before he heard the yell. It was a cry of pain, and Jack knew that voice as well as he knew his own. The cry was slightly muted, and when Jack peered in the windows, he couldn't see anyone, which made sense. If he were going to torture someone, he wouldn't do it where it was clearly visible, even if they were in the middle of nowhere. One word stuck out in that thought though. _Torture._ Whoever was inside was causing his partner, his friend, hurt, and Jack wasn't going to stand for it.

He crept over to the front door, gently testing the knob. It was locked, and for a minute Jack thought about trying to pick the lock, but that had always been Mac's area of expertise. He weighed his options. One, he could try to find another way in, but that might take some time, which meant more time Mac had to get hurt. Two? He could just bust the door down, but that would alert whoever was inside that he was there. It didn't take him long to decide.

Jack took a step back, then raised his foot and bashed it into the door, sending it crashing inward. Knowing he didn't have much time before someone came to investigate the noise, Jack ducked inside and hid behind a corner. He glanced around the house, what he could see of it, anyway, and noticed that either the person who owned this house was a slob, or someone had tried cluttering the hallway to make a getaway. Jack grit his teeth in anger at the idea of his partner in danger without him there to help, but he had to push that anger down as he finally heard someone come his way.

As soon as the man stepped past Jack in the hallway, the Delta jumped out from the side, tackling the man and sending them both to the ground. Jack threw a few punches, all hitting their mark, but the man he was fighting made a cheap shot, and Jack collapsed to the side, groaning.

The thug Jack was fighting reached behind his back and brought out a handgun, but Jack was able to kick out and knock it out of the man's hand. That gave the Phoenix agent enough time to get back on his feet, a renewed vengeance in his blood for his wounded … pride. He turned back towards his opponent, ready to fight again.

The man had drawn a knife from his belt, and after a moment, he lunged forward, swinging his knife at Jack. Stepping to the side, Jack easily avoided getting sliced or diced, and he grabbed the man's arm, trying to yank the knife away. After struggling for a few seconds, Jack's opponent smashed his head into Jack's, and the Delta lost control of the fight as he fell to the ground.

The man with the knife raised his weapon and plunged it towards Jack's face. Jack barely got his hands up in time to catch the descending hands, struggling against the man as his knife inched its way closer and closer to his skin.

Suddenly from behind, there came a confused voice.

"Jack?"

 _0-0-0_

MacGyver stares at his partner in surprise, clearly wondering how on earth the man had found him.

"Hey Mac," Jack grunted, holding back an attack from the man Kristy had sent up. A knife was only a few inches away from Jack's eye, and Mac could see Jack's arms shaking from the exertion of holding back. Shaking himself out of his shock, Mac joined the fight, intent on making sure his best friend didn't get stabbed.

Spotting a decorative glass orb on the floor, Mac quickly picked it up and threw it. It connected with the side of the man's head, enough to severely daze him, and with that distraction, Jack was easily able to disarm and subdue his attacker.

Once the man was on the ground and out of commission, Jack hurried over to his friend, worry lining his face. "Hey," he said as he reached the blond. "You okay?"

"Escape now, talk later," Mac replied, pulling Jack towards the front door. They raced outside, Mac going as fast as he could with his injured knee. When they finally reached Jack's car, Mac yanked open the door and Jack quickly started the engine. Almost before MacGyver had managed to shut his door, Jack was spinning his car around, spraying water up into the air and fishtailing slightly before taking off down the road.

"How did you know-"

"That you were in danger and I was right about your girlfriend?"

Mac shot his friend an exasperated look that clearly asked him not to bring that up right now.

"Sorry, bad timing. Anyway. I had Riley look up your girl. Turns out, one of her grandpas died ten years ago. The other one bit it four years ago."

"And you found me …?"

"I had Riley trace your phone to the last location. Granted, that was about an hour away from here, but still. Weren't many places to go besides straight. Barely spotted your Jeep though."

There was silence for another minute, then Jack asked, "Dude, what do they want?"

"Agent Dram. Or at least, I think that's who they're looking for. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Dram? You mean the chick we rescued from that compound like, a month ago?"

"That would be the one."

"But you met Krista like, the next day or something!"

"It was a couple days later, and they must have had some way of ID'ing me besides the cameras, because Riley wiped those."

"They move fast," Jack commented.

Mac was silent for a minute, and when Jack glanced over, he saw his friend leaning his head back against the headrest. Jack wondered for a minute if the kid had fallen asleep. He sure looked exhausted enough to the point that he would. Jack winced as he noticed his friend's shirt peppered with burn holes, and his rage grew tenfold when he saw Mac's bloody arm. His friend's face had a scary amount of dried blood on it, but the rain had actually washed away most of the blood. Jack could see that the cut, and while it was bad, wasn't actually life-threatening.

"Quit staring," Mac said without even opening his eyes.

"I wasn't staring," Jack shot back, though he did look back at the road, still trying to drive through the crazy rain storm.

"You're a bad liar Jack."

"If I'm such a bad liar, why am I such a good spy?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that question."

"You bet your butt I do," Jack growled playfully, glad to see that his friend still had his quick wit.

Mac chuckled at his friend's response, but when he jostled his wounds, he grimaced and quieted down.

"Thanks," the blond said after a minute. Jack looked over at Mac briefly.

"You thought I would just leave you?"

"I didn't think you knew I was in trouble," Mac shot back. The blond cracked his eyes open and looked over at Jack, who was alternating between looking at him and navigating his way on the flooded road.

"You underestimate my spidey-senses," Jack quipped, smirking at his friend. Mac let out a soft snort.

Jack glanced over at Mac, glad to see that his friend seemed to be feeling a little better. "So why'd you guys pull over? Was that the cabin she supposedly wanted you to fix?"

Mac shook his head once. "No, that's still about four hours down the road. She cut a hole in my gas line, and we ran out of gas."

Jack was going to give a witty response, but as they passed one of the rare intersections on the road, he saw something out Mac's window, and his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to yell a warning, but even as the shout left his lips, the approaching car collided with them.

Jack's Marquis skidded along the road, then lost its balance and flipped onto its roof before sliding to a stop. Smoke rose from the car, but there was no sound whatsoever coming from the passengers inside.

 _ **:D Oh come on. It's me. I couldn't let them off THAT easy! XD**_

 _ **Lemme know what you think!**_


	5. Chapter 5

It was simultaneously too loud and deafeningly silent as MacGyver slowly came back to the land of the living. He tried to remember what happened. The last thing he remembered was Jack's horrified face, then a massive amount of pressure and pain on his right arm. Then his world had been flipped upside down. Now, he stared out the cracked windshield of Jack's ruined car.

"Jack?" Mac croaked, looking to the side as he tried to locate his partner. He winced as he felt his sore neck protest the movement. "Jack!"

MacGyver's partner was hanging limply in his seatbelt. Mac tried reaching for a piece of sharp glass with his right hand, but he let out a sharp hiss, and he remembered the pressure and pain he'd thought about earlier. He didn't bother looking at his injured hand; he simply used his left hand instead. When he grabbed the glass, he ignored the sharp pain in his fingers as the sharp material cut into his skin as he reached over, trying to reach Jack's seatbelt to cut the man down.

Doing so while keeping his right arm pressed against his side to prevent it from moving was difficult, but Mac was determined to make it work. Unfortunately, before he could get much headway in freeing his partner, his door was yanked open. Hands reached in and grabbed the blond, ignoring his shouts of pain as they grabbed and pulled on his injured arm.

His seatbelt was unbuckled, but before he could hit the roof of the car, more hands caught him and dragged him out of the vehicle. Mac struggled, but after being tossed around in the car like a rag doll, a lot his energy was going to simply keeping him conscious.

However, MacGyver kept fighting, doing his best to get back to his friend.

"Jack!" His yell was weak, but that didn't stop him. "Jack! Jack!"

"Shut him up," Kristy hissed from somewhere nearby. A hand tried covering the blond's mouth, but he bit down hard, and they retracted the limb with an angry shout. In retaliation, they thumped their first on top of his head, and he immediately went limp, his head lolling to the side as unconsciousness claimed him as one of her own once again.

 _0-0-0_

Jack felt like his head was going to explode. There was so much pressure built up behind his eyes that he worried if he opened them, they'd pop right out of his head. He knew he had to look around sometime though, so he finally pried his lids open.

The world was upside down, and full of shattered glass.

Jack groaned. "Mac, you okay?" There was no answer, so the older man looked over to the passenger seat, and his heart practically stopped beating when he saw Mac's open door and vacated seat. Immediately, Jack began fighting against his seatbelt. The buckle was stuck, and Jack looked around frantically. He spotted a piece of glass near his head and reached down, grabbing ahold of it. His brain registered several red streaks on the sharp object, and he knew that the only person it could belong to was MacGyver.

"C'mon," he muttered, sawing away at the belt. The fabric became more and more frayed, and within a few moments there was a ripping noise, and Jack let out a shout as he fell on his head. Glass shards dug into his hands, but they didn't cut his skin.

Jack managed to crawl out of the shattered drivers side window, wincing as he stood up. His knee, wrist, and shoulder were all aching as he stood up, but it was nothing like the pain his heart felt when he looked around and didn't see MacGyver at anywhere. There went Jack's last hope that his partner had simply been able to free himself and had climbed out of the car. Jack sighed as he looked at his car. It was definitely fixable, but now he had even more reason to hate Kristy Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Was, besides the fact that she'd kidnapped Mac.

The rain was still coming down hard, and it stung Jack's skin as it made impact. His phone didn't respond to anything when he tried to turn it on, though he wasn't surprised. It had died after much less beatings when Mac did his thing with it, and the screen was now shattered beyond the ability to even touch it without getting glass in his fingers. So much for calling for help.

He realized though that the car that had rammed into them hadn't been Mac's Jeep, meaning that his partner's car was probably still sitting at that cabin. There was the small problem of the empty gas tank, but Jack remembered seeing a gas station, and with the distance he and Mac had driven, he realized it would actually be pretty close.

Jack wiped the rain off his face, even though it didn't do anything to keep him dry. He was simply trying to see down the road, see if he could spot any light or sign indicative of said gas station. Even though there wasn't anything visible, Jack made his way down the road at a decent jog. The only reason he wasn't going any faster was because he wouldn't be any help to Mac if he slipped and fell in the rain.

Thankfully, after only about ten minutes of jogging, Jack found the gas station, and to his immense relief it was still open. He didn't know what time it was exactly, but he knew it was late.

He ran into the store portion of the station. There was only one other person in the store with him, the very bored looking clerk.

"Welcome to Sparky's Gas, how may I help—"

"I need a gas can," Jack interrupted, placing his hands firmly on the counter to emphasize his words.

"We don't actually have any of those to rent," the teen replied, still sounding bored. Jack grit his teeth in frustration.

"Okay, then I'll buy one from you."

"I don't think I'm allowed to-"

"Look man." Jack reached behind the counter and grabbed the boy's shirt. "I got a friend in trouble, and the only way for me to get to him is by a car that's run out of gas! So I don't care if I have to buy a whole friggin' gas pump, I will. Now where is my gas can?"

The teenager finally looked less bored and a little more nervous, and he moved around the counter to get Jack a can. Jack picked out a prepaid cell phone to replace his, at least for the moment, while the kid brought the can back. The plastic container had definitely seen better days, but Jack would take anything that could transport the gas without leaking. "I'm getting this too." He held up the phone.

The kid nodded, and Jack pulled out his wallet, tossing a few bills down on the counter. "This should cover this stuff, right?"

"Uh, yeah." The teenager wasn't actually sure; he just wanted to get the man away from him. "Just uh, fill it up at station one."

Jack didn't answer, but he grabbed the can and headed out towards the gas pump. While he was waiting for the container to fill up, he broke the phone out of its plastic casing and powered it on, dialing a familiar number once it was lit up.

"This is Thornton."

"Patty. Patty, it's Jack."

"Jack? Where are you?"

"Bit of a long story. Hey listen, I need a backup team."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mac's in trouble," Jack said. "I don't have time to explain it all, but have Riley catch you up on what she knows."

"Where are you going, Jack?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I'm hoping Mac is there, wherever 'there' is."

"Jack, what's going on? Is Mac okay?"

Jack sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No, he's not. I don't know specifics, but what I do know is that his crazy girlfriend kidnapped him and t-boned my car, and they got away with him. I don't know for sure where they're going, but I do know that she supposedly had a cabin near the Redwoods that she was asking him to help her fix up. That's where I'm going now."

"I'll organize a team to head your way now, Jack. Stay put, and they'll come with you."

"No can do, Patty. You didn't see the kid. He's in rough shape. He needs help now." Jack thought that Thornton would tell him to back down and he was preparing an argument to convince her to let him stay out, but it didn't come.

There was silence for another minute, then Thornton finally spoke again. "I'll have Riley keep track of your phone and send the team after you."

"Great. Is Riley there?"

There was another pause, and then, "Jack?"

"Riles, I need you to do me a favor. Can you look up any properties that Kristy has any ties to near the Redwoods? In her name, a family name, anything like that. Send the address to this phone."

"Got it. Did you see Mac?"

"... Yeah. Yeah, I saw him. He was fine."

"Jack, don't lie to me." Riley's frown was practically tangible through the tone of her voice, and the older man sighed again.

"He was pretty banged up. But he was still fighting. You know our boy."

"Yeah," Riley replied quietly. "Hey, here's Thornton again."

"Jack."

"Patty."

"The team is moving out in the next twenty minutes. They'll catch up to you when they get there."

"Roger that. I'm heading out now."

"And Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Bring him home safe."

"You got it."

With that, the phone call was ended, and Jack topped off the gas tank before screwing the cap on and taking off down the road. If there was one thing you could always count on with Jack Dalton, it was that he would do whatever it took to make sure his family was safe.

 _0-0-0_

It took Jack almost thirty minutes to get back to the cabin where he'd found Mac the first time. When he passed his wrecked car in the intersection, he had to force himself to not worry about it. Mac was more important, and when he caught up to whoever it was that had him, he would make sure that whoever was driving the car that rammed into them paid for the damage done. Whether payment was financially or physically, they would pay.

Finally, the cabin came into view, even though it was still hard to make out through the sheets of rain coming down. Mac's Jeep was in the driveway, and Jack hurried over. He remembered what his friend said about the ruined gas line though, and he realized that putting in more gas wouldn't mean anything if it was just gonna run out in a few miles anyway. He brightened up a little though, because he knew his partner always kept a roll of duct tape in the glovebox, and he figured he could at least make a temporary fix, good enough to try and catch up to Kristy and Mac. When he went through the glovebox though, the tape was missing, and Jack had to take in slow, easy breaths to try and keep himself calm.

"C'mon Jack, what would Mac do? He'd probably make a sealant out of mud or something." Jack was muttering frustratedly to himself as he got out of the car, stepping back into the downpour. He glanced towards the house, and wondered if there was anything inside.

"Better than getting drowned out here," he said with a shrug. He made his way back to the house, prepared to take out anyone who may have been left behind. Thankfully, it seemed like they'd all cleared out, and Jack was alone in the cabin. As he wandered around, trying to find something to help himself, he found a door. When he opened said door, it revealed a staircase, and he cautiously made his way down.

As soon as he reached the basement landing, he immediately noticed a chair off to his right. Upon closer inspection, he saw severed duct tape wrapped around the chair, indicative that someone had been held down with the sticky material. With a sudden joyful lurch, Jack spotted Mac's roll of tape sitting on a table, and he picked it up. Figuring he had what he needed now, and knowing time was of the essence, Jack made his way back to the stairs, dreading going back out into the rain. As he put his foot on the first step though, he noticed something.

He leaned over the railing and grabbed the golf club, his eyes narrowing as he took in the small flecks of dried blood on the head of the driver. Making a split second decision, Jack tucked the club under his arm. He didn't know what he would use it for yet, but he figured sooner or later a use would present itself. Hopefully in the form of using it as a weapon.

 _ **Once again, I know it's a little rough, but I've been distracted recently. Moving takes a lot out of ya, lemme tell ya XD That, getting to know my new roommate, getting back to life on my own, it's been a day. But I figured I would get a new chapter out anyway, so let me know what you think!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**You guys, I am sooooooo sorry it's taken me so long to get this posted. I just really lost touch with my MacGyver side for a hot minute, and the last story I posted kinda got me back in the mood. I don't think I'm 100% back, but hopefully I can start writing more Mac stories. If you guys have any prompts or stories you want to see, please send them my way! I could use some inspiration right now!**_

 _ **Anyway, there's this chapter, and then a short epilogue coming up, so that should be posted hopefully soon. More AN at the bottom.**_

 _ **I don't own MacGyver, though I would love to write for them some day. Hopefully soon XD**_

A fist slammed into Mac's temple, rudely jerking him awake. His head bobbed off his chest as he came to, and in a daze, he looked around.

"Sorry for the rude awakening," Kristy said as she stepped in front of him. "But we really need to talk. Someone's here to see you." She grabbed Mac's chin, and the blond tried to keep himself from wincing. Every single part of his body was sore, and Kristy had a surprisingly strong grip. She used her vice-like grip and turned his head to the side, where MacGyver saw who he recognized as Victor Hardy standing there.

"Mr. MacGyver, is it?" Hardy asked. Mac didn't bother answering. "I've heard quite a bit about you. I hear that you're … stubborn."

"One of my better qualities," Mac quipped. Hardy's mouth tightened. The man in charge gave Kristy a side-eye, and she turned Mac's head back towards herself.

"I need you to tell me where she is," she said.

"Like I said before, I don't know who you're talking about," Mac ground out, jerking his chin out of her grip.

"The agent you and Jack rescued from my compound last month," Hardy stepped in, his tone indicating that he was running on a very low supply of patience. "I need to know who she is, and where she's at now."

MacGyver glared at Kristy, then over at Hardy. "Even if I knew that information, what makes you think I'd give her away?"

"Self preservation?"

Almost before Mac could even comprehend what Kristy had said, one of the guards attacked. Mac tried ducking his head, trying to block any of the punches raining down on him, but it didn't do much good. The beating didn't even last a full minute, but Mac could already feel his lip swelling, and he could smell the blood pooling and dripping out of his nose. He shook his head to try and clear his vision, but before he could recover from that attack, something hard was slammed into his side.

He couldn't help the gasp that escaped his throat as the tire iron was rammed against his ribs. He tried shying away, but found it rather difficult to do so, being tied to a chair and all. The rod was smacked once more into his ribs again before the man finally backed off. Hardy and Kristy were standing by as the beating took place, but when it was finished, they both moved forward. Kristy stepped in front of MacGvyer.

"Any of that jog your memory?" she asked sweetly. Mac remained stubbornly silent, trying to catch his breath. He happened to glance down and saw spots of red where the blood had dripped and dried. It was a good thing he didn't get queasy very easily.

"Mac, come on. I don't want to hurt you any more than necessary," Kristy tried persuading him.

"Already a little past that, aren't we?" Mac asked, spitting a bit of blood out of the side of his mouth.

"You forced my hand."

"Funny, didn't see your hand doing much of the work."

Kristy's lips became so thin that they almost disappeared. "We're going to take a break now," she finally said tersely. "When we come back, I would seriously try to get your memory to improve if I were you."

"Original threat," Mac said sarcastically. Kristy smirked at him and took a few steps, but then circled back around again and bent down. Mac tried tilting away, but once again, being tied to a chair, along with his many injuries, made moving a little more difficult. So when Kristy's lips met his, he couldn't do much except just sit there stiffly. After a few seconds she pulled away and smiled down at him patronizingly.

"Why'd you have to be so cute?" she asked, sighing in disappointment.

"Why'd you have to be a sociopath?"

"Getting fancy with your insults, huh Mac? Well, maybe when we come back, you'll have thought of something more useful." With that, Kristy turned and walked away with Hardy, leaving MacGyver alone with a guard to make sure he didn't do anything … MacGyver-y. Not that a guard was going to stop him. The blond knew Jack wouldn't stop searching until he found Mac, but he couldn't afford to wait. He didn't know how long Jack would take.

Hardy's voice drifted over to him as he and Kristy walked away.

"We have to know where she is," he insisted. "By any means necessary. Start breaking bones next."

Well. Mac definitely didn't want to wait around for _that_ party surprise. He waited a few minutes, to make sure that they were truly gone, but after five minutes or so, he knew he had to act now; he couldn't wait forever. The longer he stayed, the more chance it gave Kristy and her uncle to actually come back.

Mac stared down at his duct taped arms, slowing his breath as he prepared for what he was about to do, and the pain he was about to put himself through. The guard behind him stifled a yawn, and while the man's eyes were closed, Mac made his move. He jerked his arms towards his chest, as if he were trying to hit himself, and the duct tape came off the chair with a ripping noise. The guard shouted in surprise, and he moved forward, trying to grab his prisoner.

Mac lunged for the tire iron, which had been set just in front of him. His hand wrapped around the cold metal and he turned, swinging the tool. It connected with his guard's cheekbone, and he collapsed to the ground. With a grunt, Mac got to his feet and moved through the basement he was being kept in, holding his sore side with one hand, while the other kept hold of the tire iron.

The basement door was locked, but with a little persuasion from the tire iron, it caved in pretty quickly, and Mac limped his way out of the room. He tried to keep his ears open for any sign of Kristy or her men coming back his way, but his head was still buzzing from the beating he'd taken earlier.

He rounded one corner and saw a door. He could only hope that this one would lead him outside, but as he moved forward and grasped the handle, it was pulled open from the other side rather abruptly. He came face to face with a clearly-surprised Kristy, but he didn't give her time to recover from her shock. She seemed to be alone, and Mac didn't waste any time quickly shoving past her. His knee squawked at him in annoyance, but he didn't have time to address it, because it was at that moment he ran into the rest of Kristy's backup.

Two men, plus Hardy came into view Mac, and though he was a skilled fighter, he was injured, and hadn't eaten or had anything to drink in over twenty-four hours. He fought them off as best he could, even landing a few hits that were sure to leave the men seeing stars, but one solid crack in the middle of his back from Hardy sent the blond to his knees, and the rest of the men quickly grabbed and secured him, wrenching his arms back behind his back despite his struggles.

"We need to get out of here," Kristy hissed. Hardy nodded in agreement and took possession of MacGyver, keeping his grip tight. Kristy looked at the other guards. "The rest of you, go back and clean up. We were never here."

The guards left Mac with Kristy and her uncle, and Mac knew that he had a chance against them if he could get out of Hardy's grip. As if the crime lord had read his thoughts, he tightened his grip on Mac's arm, twisting it further up the agent's back. Mac had to go on his tiptoes to relieve the pressure. Then, with a shove, they were moving. The back of his shirt was grabbed to manhandle him even more as they made their way outside, and he winced as Hardy grabbed skin along with shirt.

Mac had a brief moment of curiosity as to why Kristy seemed so panicked, but he quickly realized there was only one reason for her to be so upset now.

There was a large hill in the backyard leading up to the cars, but as they started making their way up the terrain, a man suddenly appeared and signalled for them to stop moving.

Mac knew there could only be one person that was making them react like this, and he opened his mouth to yell. Kristy knew what he was planning though, because before he even had a chance to take in a breath, she reached over and gripped the top of his trachea, pinching it between her thumb and four fingers and effectively cutting off his attempts to call out. The only noise that came out was a small rasping noise, and Kristy covered Mac's mouth with her other hand in order to silence him completely.

The small group waited at the base of the hill as the man up top snuck around the corner, his gun drawn. Mac's heart rate skyrocketed, and he wanted to shout, try and give warning, but Kristy was doing a good job at keeping him quiet. The blond jerked his head around, trying to dislodge her grip, but a single shot suddenly rang out. Everyone froze, including Mac.

It took forever, but someone finally called out, "Clear!" from up top. With a smirk, Kristy jerked her head and they began walking up the hill. Mac tried to make sense of what had just happened. Jack, it had to have been him. That was the only reason Hardy and Kristy would have moved instead of just pretending like no one was home. But if it was Jack, who had been shot? Jack couldn't be dead. They'd been through too much together for him to be taken out by a single gunshot.

"Sorry about your friend, Mac," Kristy said, not sounding sorry at all. The blond glared at her, but couldn't say anything. They passed by the carport and were about to get into the vehicle, but Hardy suddenly let out a grunt and released his prisoner as he fell to the ground. Mac stumbled against the car, not expecting the sudden freedom, but Kristy quickly aimed her gun at Mac, and he held his hands up.

"Not as sorry as you're gonna be."

A grin split Mac's face, and his chest flooded with relief as Jack stepped out from the side of the house.

"Let him go, Krystal," Jack ordered, his gun levelled at the woman.

"I don't think so, Jackie-boy," she said. "You shoot me, and I'll shoot Mac."

"That's cute," Jack said, his aim never wavering. "I'd like to see you try and get away with that though."

As his friend and Kristy were arguing, Mac's eyes roamed, trying to find anything that he could use to help. An idea came to him, and while it was a mix of something both he and Jack would do, it was the quickest way to get anything done. Hopefully what he was about to do wouldn't get him a bullet in the head.

Kristy was staring at Jack for the moment, and Mac took advantage of her distractedness. He lunged for the car door and yanked it open. The door connected solidly with Kristy's wrist, and she dropped her gun in shock and pain. Once she'd released the weapon, Mac dove down, crashing into her legs and knocking her to the ground. She fell with a shout, though her head cracked against the cement and she immediately fell silent. Her head lolled to the side, and for a moment, MacGyver wondered if she was dead. He watched as her chest continued to rise and fall though, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"She alive?" Jack asked.

"Yep," Mac replied, double checking to make sure she was actually unconscious, and not just playing them. He also made sure her gun was out of reach. While he took care of the woman, Jack turned on Hardy, who was struggling to his feet.

"Don't move," Jack ordered, placing the gun against Hardy's neck. The criminal glared, but at Jack's own matching stare, Victor slowly lifted his hands above his head. Jack quickly searched the man and removed his gun from the back of his pants, then worked on securing his hands behind his back. With Kristy and Hardy subdued now, Mac's wounds suddenly reminded him that they need attention like, yesterday. He sagged against the car and closed his eyes.

"Mac?" Jack's voice was worried, and he spared a moment to glance at his friend. "Are _you_ alive?"

"Yeah," Mac said with a tired smile, not opening his eyes. "Yeah, I'm good."

 _ **Okay ... probably not worth the wait, and once again, I'm so sorry about that *awkward grin***_

 _ **So like I said, there's a short epilogue to come soon, so hopefully it won't be too long.**_

 _ **I'm serious you guys, if you have any prompts, send them my way and I will do my best with them! I very rarely do romance stories, but almost anything else I'm game to try. Tags, original story ideas, maybe even some AU, depending on the prompt ... Lemme see whatcha got!**_

 _ **Also, lemme know what you guys think, and once again, I'm so sorry for the long wait, and I'm sorry if the chapter wasn't what you'd expected ...**_


	7. Chapter 7

"Agent Dram has agreed to testify," Thornton informed Jack and MacGyver. "Victor Hardy will be going away for a long time thanks to her."

"That's great." Mac sat back in his chair slowly, his injuries still giving him grief. He looked at his boss again. "And … Kristy?"

Thornton didn't hesitate in her response. "There's no way we're letting her go that easy. The DA wants to cut her a deal in exchange for her testimony, but I'll make sure she gets the worse end of the stick."

Mac chuckled. Thornton always had his back, and it was a comfort to know.

"Now, I believe the doctor's orders were to rest?" Thornton reminded Mac, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

"Don't worry ma'am, I got it," Jack assured their boss.

Thornton didn't look like she believed the older man. Not that anyone could blame her. When Mac and Jack were involved, rest and recuperation usually ended up not being part of the equation. She didn't force the issue though, and she nodded. "I'll see you when you're feeling better," she said.

"See ya, Patty," Jack said before he leaned over and ended the Skype call. "Alright. What's first on the agenda? Food? Probably food. Whatcha in the mood for? Burgers? Pizza? I know this great new pizza place downtown, they deliver. I can see what—"

"Jack," Mac interrupted. The older agent looked down at his friend, who looked embarrassed. "I never got the chance to say this before, but … I'm sorry, man. Sorry for everything. Not believing you, accusing you when I had no right,—"

"Hey," Jack said. "You got nothin' to be sorry for. It was Kristy."

"But I should have seen through her, I—"

"Look man. We can play the blame game all night long, but no matter what you say, it's not gonna make me mad at you. So you can just stop the guilt parade, because nobody's gonna show up and you're just gonna be … marchin' through guilt-town on your own, and I think it's best if I stop this metaphor before it gets too weird," he finished.

Mac chuckled, then grimaced as his ribs protested the movement.

"We good?" Jack asked, pinning his partner with a stare.

MacGyver debated whether to continue arguing or not, but eventually his exhausted body won out.

"We're good."

"Good." Jack stretched, then reached for the DVD remote. "Now let's get this movie marathon started."

"What happened to rest and recuperation?"

"You're not goin' out and _running_ a marathon, are you?" Jack asked incredulously. MacGyver held up his hands in surrender, and Jack turned back around and slipped the disc into the player.

As the opening credits began rolling, Jack shut off the lights. "There. Now we can tell Patty you were resting."

The fact that he'd given into Jack's fight didn't mean that the blond had stopped feeling bad, but he wasn't going to let it consume him. Kristy was out of his life, so Mac decided to try and move on. Hopefully, things would eventually calm down. As the movie played, and Jack decided to play commentator on the film, Mac looked at everything in his life. Between friends, family, and work, he realized that his life would probably never be 'calm.' But he realized that as long as he had his friends with him, he was okay with that.

 _ **Lol when I said short, I meant short. I probably should have just put this in the last chapter, but it wasn't ready, and I wanted to get that last chapter out.**_

 _ **I know I say this at the end of all my stories, but sorry for the cheesy and decently poor ending *awkward grin***_

 _ **I'm sorry it took so long to get this story out, but it's done now. Also, I know that all of you are saying you wish it had been longer, but I honestly just don't know if people would feel like it's dragging on.**_

 _ **Anyway, lemme know what you think!**_


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